A top performance; a moment of too rare harmony in a season which has so frequently seen batting, bowling, fielding and (ahem) umpiring units undoing each others excellent work.
On a pitch prepared in line with some long forgotten and much denied ECB directive to ‘keep plenty of grass on it’batting first was always going to be a bit of a gamble. A gamble which at 3 for 2 and then 47 for 3 at the mid-way point seemed a long way from paying off.
However, the skipper (well overdue a meaningful contribution) and Steve S dug deep, ran hard and put on 80 odd for the fourth wicket leaving just enough overs for Cunners and Steve M to wield their bats, clear the ropes and push us up to 187. For the record ‘extras’ made a useful contribution of 25.
The chat at tea was that if we bowled as tight as Messrs Struthers (who on his birthday offered no gifts in a miserly bowling spell), Pitt and Mills we’d be in with a shout.
And bowl and field tight we did. Rob, in his spell of the season, and Cunners set the tone conceding only 20 runs in the first 12 overs. Steve S and Tom found their grooves (and the wickets) as did Ed (a revelation coming right-arm round) and Anthony. And Jim came on, much to Anthony’s chagrin, to nick the final wicket.
So complete was this all-round performance that Anthony even managed to force a smile from John the groundsman.